Tibi x Abel

Fashion loves a fragrance. Another launch, another campaign, another bottle vying for space on the bathroom shelf. So it’s interesting that Tibi, the New York fashion label approaching its 30th birthday, has only just made its first. It wasn’t for lack of opportunity. Founder Amy Smilovic recalls an early flirtation with a candle, when a potential collaborator asked what perfume she was wearing and offered to copy it. “It had nothing to do with who I was,” she says, acknowledging that she was still figuring that out as a brand and a person. Now, the intention is clear: “I don’t want to be in the fragrance business. I just want an amazing fragrance that will tell our story in another way.” After almost three decades helping people figure out how they want to dress, deciding how they might want to smell required meeting the right people.

The introduction came through Amy’s son Gabe, who discovered fragrance brand Abel and became a complete convert to natural fragrance, finding other perfumes overwhelming by comparison and completely unwearable. Founded in Amsterdam by former winemaker Frances Shoemack, Abel combines master perfumery with biotechnology to create contemporary scents from entirely natural ingredients. Gabe introduced his mother to the brand, leading to Frances joining Amy on her podcast, Almost Reckless. The founders instantly clicked, recognising the conviction, and figuring it out along the way, that comes with building an independent brand. For Amy, that connection was essential: “If that connection isn’t there, it doesn’t matter what a good nose it is!” Frances, already a Tibi admirer, saw the creative challenge clearly: “How do we capture this visual world through fragrance?”

Isaac Sinclair, Abel’s master perfumer, took Tibi’s “chill, modern, classic” sensibility and its philosophy of “creative pragmatism”, balancing creative expression with everyday usefulness, as his starting point. They knew they wanted vetiver, his favourite ingredient, at the heart of the peppery green wood fragrance, pairing its earthy character with herbaceous yerba mate and sparkling, citrusy timut pepper. Developing that balance took roughly two years across New York, New Zealand and Paris, with Isaac supplying the perfectionism. Six hours before sign-off, he dismantled and rebuilt the formula to check every ingredient deserved its place. It emerged unchanged. When the fragrance reached Tibi’s office, the verdict was immediate: “Whoa, that’s legit.” For Amy, that meant something with staying power, rather than another scent destined to disappear with a trend. She knows how long a perfume can stay with you: around 25 bottles remain tucked away, archived in her bathroom drawer, taking her from high school, via Ralph Lauren, to college with CK One. She no longer wears them, but keeps them for the memories. Tibi feels like a possible number 26, with another 30 years ahead to collect its own.

For Frances, translating a brand she had long admired felt like a natural progression, with enough common ground to explore Tibi’s identity through Abel’s distinctive approach. The result carries something she recognises from wearing Amy’s clothes: feeling “put together”, with a confidence that feels effortless. Amy’s ambition leaves room for the wearer, enjoying how the scent develops differently on each person’s skin. “I hope they just feel like themselves.”

Tibi x Abel is available now, £160 for 50ml and £35 for 6ml.